how important is it now?

I called the after hours number for my OB's office because I've been having issues with my stomach. I've had loose stool and diarrhea for about 6 weeks total now. I know, that sounds like too long to wait but I've got ulcerative colitis and was trying to get it under control by upping my medicine. The midwife said to stop taking my prenatal because it has a stool softener in it. I actually went ahead and stopped the UC meds also (sometimes taking too much of it can have an adverse affect) and just kept on with my Nexium so I didn't have heartburn. It helped some!

Then, my OB seemed to get really upset that I wasn't taking my vitamins. I mean, I understand they are important but if I take two Flinstone's or something like that shouldn't that be enough at this point? She's worried about DHA, but I only have a week and a half left! I had 3 weeks left when I told her I had temporarily stopped the vitamins.

So, listening to her I went back on my normal medicine regiment and now my stomach is messed up again. I think my body has had enough and I just need to give it a break from all of this stuff coming in it. Will being without vitamins for a week hurt anything at this point?

 

I am no doctor, but I think as long as you're eating healthy and drinking enough water you'll probably be just fine! I think some prenatal care folks lose sight of the fact that we're generally well nourished people who have access to all the vitamins and nutrients we need in our food supply. So eat your veggies, get lots of protien and iron into you and put your feet up for the next couple of weeks!

 

I didn't take prenatals at all. The reason is I can't swallow any pills. My docs were concerned with DHA as well- you can get it from fish (be sure to stay away from fish with too much mercury) but I don't like fish either. What I found is that they make very expensive eggs with DHA in them. They feed the chickens seaweed which has DHA in it and the eggs produced have quite a bit of DHA. Check out the grocery store or natural health store to see if you can find them.

I also agree with the pp- vitamins are good but sometimes we can't all take them or have access to them. Eat and drink healthily and you'll go a long way to getting what you need.

 

With my first two kiddos I couldn't take any vitamins, not even flintstones, because they made me so sick. Same thing thing this time around. The doctor I have knows it and hasn't made a big deal of it. Both of my first two are bright healthy children. I don't think if you skip out on the vitamins in the last couple of weeks you have anything to fret about!

 

Good, because these last two days I've been in really bad shape. I can't eat many vegetables right now, they are making it worse. Hopefully a few days with nothing but Nexium for heartburn will help. I'm sick of being sick, I need to keep my strength up to get to my c-section date.

Thanks for making me feel better!

 

I am a full believer that our bodies are smart enough to release the nutrients that they need. Talk about bad nutrition and vitamin intake during a pregnancy - that's me all the way! I wish it could be different, and I eat well balanced diets when I'm not pregnant and take my vitamins, but with my hyperemesis I just can't when I'm pregnant. Fruits and veggies don't sit well on my tummy and I have to eat meat really slowly if it's going to stay down. That means I eat way more carbs and refined/processed foods than I should, but it's better than eating nothing, right? Sounds like you've done GREAT with your pregnancy and you're almost there. How exciting! Can't wait to be where you are

 

Thanks Trisha! We didn't necessarily eat very well this weekend and my stomach went insane again. I think taking no meds might actually help my body normalize. I'm not sure though, but it's worth trying because nothing else is working.

 

My Dr. wanted me to take the vitamins but not for the babies. She said that the babies would take whatever they needed from me, and if I didn't get the vitamins then it would be my body that suffered, especially with twins. So I would just take some chewables like you said and do the best you can with your own diet. Sorry you're so sick, that's miserable!

 

I am also no doctor, and I did take prenatals (chewables, no iron), but I agree that I can't see how it could possibly make any difference not to take them for one week.